Nanoporous materials find application in modern technologies including thermal insulation, gas storage, active membranes, fuel cells, solar cells, batteries, super capacitors, drug delivery, bio-implants, sensors, photonics, water purification, and the like, owing to their high surface area and porosity. Such materials can have a single component or multiple components. Porous carbon is an example of a single component. Porous carbon and aluminum oxide, porous carbon and vanadium oxide, are examples of two components. Additional components can include graphite materials that improve conductivity of the porous composite, other oxides, and the like. To fabricate the nanoporous materials with multiple components, particles of more than one kind can be mixed as additives into a liquid body containing a precursor that eventually leads to the formation of a wet gel. When the liquid is removed, the remaining solid matrix can have a porous structure including multiple components. Further modifications to the porous structure can be made when the particles are removed, for example, by etching.